The After Games
by mockingjayer
Summary: Katniss Everdeen executed the former President Snow and Coin took over. She established The Hunger Games or as the Capitol children call it The After Games. "After the originals, after the rebellions and uprisings, after the war?" This new type of Hunger Games uses strictly Capitol children. When does it stop? What will it take? Our original Victors, our new Tributes, or both/
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I did not create the Hunger Games or any of the original characters mentioned here. Credit to Suzanne Collins and her brilliant books. _

Chapter One

I can remember the year of my sixth birthday very, very clearly. It is the year the Rebellion of the Districts took place. I remember how upset my mother was when she found out that some of her favourite Victors were in favour of the rebellion and were actually helping District 13.

She would pace up and down our living room whenever the rebels would hack into our TV set for a special message and would keep repeating. "But she seemed like such a nice girl." She never said who she was talking about but I know it must have been Katniss Everdeen.

Katniss Everdeen the Girl on Fire. She stole the hearts of us in the Capitol and broke them just as quickly. So many people here loved her, no, adored her. I remember school when she was on her victory tour. The closer she got to the Capitol the more little girls like me and my friends started to act like her, even dress like her. And when our former President Snow's granddaughter came into school during the days of the tour with a braid in her hair identical to the one Katniss wore in the arena, that's when I knew, she must be a good guy. Most of our Victors were. And her and Peeta's love story. It made for a game I would never forget. It was one of the last games I remember. Well the last of the Original Hunger Games anyways.

Now we call them the After Games, unofficially. Apparently before President Snows execution the surviving Victors sat around a table with our current President, President Coin and voted on whether or not they should hold another Hunger Games but using Capitol children instead. This is when the tables turned. After all our old leaders were tired and either executed or imprisoned they immediately started working on The Hunger Games again. Coin took control of Panem and split the Capitol into 12 Sectors. They don't mean anything; it's just easier to reap us this way. All the old victors show their support of course. A part from Annie Cresta who disappeared after the birth or her and, the now dead, Finnick Odair's son. Peeta Mellark rarely travels to the Capitol to witness the training and interviews before the games. I know that Katniss must really have to persuade him.

I think originally they were planning on the games to be totally different from the first set. I guess to make them feel better about themselves.

"Well if we don't call it the Hunger Games will it still be the 'Hunger Games'?"

"If we don't refer to it as the Reaping will it still be seen as the 'Reaping'?"

"If they aren't called tributes they won't be made to feel like 'Tributes'."

These are exactly the reasons why Coin said no to these changes. She wanted to let us know that there will be no changes. She wanted to let us know that it is still the same old Hunger Games we knew and loved. She wanted us to know that she has just as much power as Snow and she wants us to be scared and afraid to hope, like the Districts were.

So the kids of the Capitol call it the After Games. No one knows how this name came about but it stuck. After the originals, after the rebellions and uprisings, after the war? No one knows.

The 76th annual Hunger Games was held nine years ago. The 1st annual After Games was held when I was eight years old. Four years from being legally entered into the Games. I'm in Sector 5 so our reaping gets held at 3 pm. That means I have six hours to try and do what I can today before I try my luck at the odds. The Sector 1 reapings begin in an hour.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

I wake up from a nightmare about wolves and knives and men jumping out at me, trying to grab me. My room is bright. The weather contradicts the mood of those in the Capitol at the moment. I pull the wet clothes off me and change into some clothes lying on the floor. I run my hands through my blonde hair; I'll wash and brush it properly when it comes closer to reaping time. I head towards my kitchen. I can hear my mother humming something in there and I peer in from behind a corner. My father is sitting at the table reading a newspaper, the headline is all about the reaping and the 85th Hunger Games, the ten year anniversary of the victors escaping the arena. My two younger brothers Faris and Giles are sitting on the floor. Giles is teaching Faris about trains.

This is Giles third Hunger Games and I can tell he still gets nervous but he shouldn't be nervous, I'd never let him apply for tesserae, but I'm almost certain Katniss Everdeen never let her younger sister apply for it but that didn't turn out great for either of them, Primrose still died.

I take a deep breath and turn the corner into our yellow and lime kitchen. The wood was once a bright yellow, now it is more of a faded honey. Our walls once were a bright lime to match the fridge. One is now peeling and the other is a musty sick colour.

"Aha." My father says when I sit down across from him. "She lives!" He speaks without thinking, he does that a lot. Ever since Fairs was born really.

The room went silent and my mother just stared at him jaw open before whispering. "Oh, Tymon…"

"It's fine; I know what you meant father." I say quickly before the silence deafens me.

"See Ponthia, it's only you how gets stressed out about today." My father says cheerfully to my mother as he picks his newspaper up again. "Adela isn't afraid." I just smile and nod reassuringly at my mother and Giles. I am petrified. After a short awkward breakfast Giles and I head down to the town centre to set up our stall for the special Reaping day market that now occurs. We sell material and clothes. My mother used to own a huge clothes shop in the centre of town before the building was burnt down, so we downsized to a stall and a few pieces of cloth, buttons, thousands of strands of threads, knitting kits, sewing kits. Anything to do with dress or clothes making we have it.

People come and go, set up stalls, make some money then go home to get ready for today. Then as I have just handed Giles some money to go but some fish off of a guy who has ties with District four I hear someone in the crowed yell:

"Adela!"

I look up and see Nephi Hartose make her way towards me. Nephi was an old friend of mine from back before The After Games and we still keep in touch but after her older sister died in the bombing outside the Presidents mansion she became a reclose. She was lucky to have survived, she did however gain a large scar that sits across her left cheek and travels up to the hairline on the right side of her face.

"Hello Nephi." I say as she approaches me.

"Oh Adela!" She plants a kiss on each of my cheeks and hugs me tight. "I just wanted to say good luck before… you know." She says with a sad smile.

"Yes, of course. You too Nephi."

"Oh and I need a button, my shirt I am hoping to wear keeps losing buttons so I have to get some, I know you will give me a good deal." I gave her the deal I gave everyone else who asked for buttons today.

It is now nearly lunch. It is time to pack away the stall and head home. We put the table back to the furniture building you can rent furniture out of and pay Mr Le Lux his money and put what's left of our stock back into the box we take it in.

During the walk home I notice our cousin and my best friends Taicus sitting outside his door.

"Giles run home and take a bath for this afternoon." I say to him, and I give him the box. He looks at me then at Taicus and then back at me again before saying:

"Okay but mother will worry if you take too long." He runs off home. There is only a street between Taicus and me but we are still in the same sector, this also frightens me.

"Hey Taicus." I say, and I sit myself behind him.

He looks up at me, his dark brown eyes against my green ones. "Hi." He says sadly.

"What's wrong?" I say and he just stares at me. "A part from the obvious." I add.

"My mother and father, they… uh… they are… fighting again." He looks at his hands and picks his hangnail on his thumb.

"Oh… oh, okay." Taicus' mother and father always fight. But I don't mean arguments, I have often seen my Aunt appear at family events sporting a bruise on her arm and my Uncle claw marks above his eyes. For the past two years all seemed quiet but obviously it's starting again.

"What's it about?" I ask him, I also have become interested in watching him pick the hangnail on his thumb.

"Same old, same old." He mumbles.

"Do you want to come to ours to get ready for today?"

"No, no." He quickly rebuffs. "I love your mother but I don't think my mother would appreciate her sister knowing of everything that has started again." He also adds. "If it is anything like last night I can go back inside in about thirty minutes." He still hasn't gotten that hangnail so instead he gives up and starts to walk down the street.

"Where are you going?" I yell after him.

"It about a fifteen minute walk down to the hover craft landing site from here. I want to know if Hale Marble has arrived yet. You want to come?" he raises his eyebrow.

I stand as well. "I should go home and change for today." I start to walk back to the side walk. "Another time?"

"Yeah, I hope." He says and walks in the opposite direction of me. I watch him go to see if the Sector 5 Escort has arrived from District 1 yet.

District 1 are the ones who were mainly chosen to be escorts or stylists. District 1, 2 or 4 are our trainers and other Districts can join in too. For the first set of After Games because we had no mentors we either got surviving tribute if they volunteered, and no one did, or a volunteer from one of the career training centres. Eventually as more people won Sectors began to get actual mentors. Sector 5 hasn't had a Victor yet, so it for us it will just be another random person from a District.

I begin to slowly walk home. I want this walk to last a life time.


End file.
